


The Continent

by Tbikape



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: More will be added as relevant - Freeform, The Continent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-06-20 09:28:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15531276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tbikape/pseuds/Tbikape
Summary: The Cluster canonically has a wide range of destructive capabilities. Even limiting herself to the minimum amount of destruction she is possible of cracks the earth, but what is she truly capable of? In this work the gem race finds out- firsthand.The Crystal Gems fail to make the drill on time. Garnet sees imminent death. They surrender to homeworld as Earth is about to die. The Cluster emerges as a spiteful mass with only one goal: to end the atrocities of Gem-kind. It will  destroy all It can catch until all are dead. No weapons can harm It. No negotiations can calm It. No hideout can fool It. The only option is to outrun It. The Continent flees to hyperspace with all that is left of Gems. Thankfully It takes around three hours for It to find and teleport to any far away location. This time is the only time that the crew has to gather and repair the hull. Their only time to see reality. This is the world of The Continent.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The theme for this chapter is Goodbye To A World by Porter Robinson.

As Blue Diamond walks the halls of The Continent she reminisces. This is not an odd thing for her to do, as the halls blend color and sound around her. They produce the right amount of noise and color to ignore the present. If only for a while. She comes to a stop around the bend. This is her spot. A place as heavily trafficked as needed with none of the occasional groups stopping to chat of the inner halls. The window. A poignant reminder of how things went wrong, and her favorite place to wait for the impending few hours of mad panic. All must be done in that slim gap of time they re-enter reality. Maintenance, gathering, repairs, calculations, and even rotating the draft. If they went wrong even once then the race and her race would be lost. It seemed millennia since that constant pressure was placed on her shoulders. In truth it had only been twelve years. The smudges and blots of hyperspace melted together as her mind journeyed back to the day of Armageddon.  
It was to be the happiest day in five thousand years. Closure waited around the corner for both Blue and Yellow. Yellow had received the formal surrender from the group that destroyed Pink, oh, so long ago. She had been said to be dumbfounded at this. It took Yellow’s Pearl clearing her throat to snap Yellow out of it, and her first action was to call blue. No note taking or negotiations would take place without Blue there to savor it. Instead of the calm and collected poise of a general who had outwitted a long-time rival, Yellow acted like a teenager who had just learned of a scandal.  
“Blue, Blue, Bluuuueeee! Guess what just happened?”   
Blue had been reviewing plans to take a trip to Earth in a few months, so the last thing she expected when the call went through was the jubilant face of Yellow Diamond (with little regard to personal space). Blue Diamond yelped and tumbled backwards over her chair.  
“After five thousand years it finally happened!!”  
Blue rubbed the back of her head “You forgot about protocol? Or manners?”  
Yellow backed up and chuckled a little “My apologies, I was just excited to tell you!... You did not hear what I said, did you?”  
Blue only raised an eyebrow.  
“I got a call today. It was a formal surrender from a small but persistent villainous group.” she was enjoying this far too much “And I thought I should tell you before deciding what to do.”  
Blue was irked at this. She didn’t need to be bothered to judge every splinter group that decided to not follow the law. “I was in the middle of something! Do you suddenly not have the competence to issue a simple execution?”  
“I do, but I thought you might want to join in on the judging of the Crystal Gems. Do you?”  
Blue had never thought this day would come. Her first response was to take a deep breath. The second was to happily scream. She brought her hands to her face a little too late to muffle herself, but she couldn’t care less about the noise. Gem guards poured in, armed to the teeth. She nodded vigorously to Yellow.  
“Then there is no need to dismiss your guards. I do have a grand idea for this and it is time sensitive. Have them spread the news! Everyone needs to see this! It’s a triumph!”  
It was to be a holiday. A gathering of all to celebrate the ultimate triumph of the diamonds. Such an event was rare. The atmosphere would have been described as like a festival to someone from earth. Groups of gems originally formed in strict classes, but curiosity drew some to splinter off. Those then started to gather as more and more diverse and jubilant groups until protocol was rarely enforced. Only enough to keep the peace. Such a thing was almost unheard of, But it was clear that all classes would be welcome to see this event as one giant representation of unity. After all, almost every class was robbed of members by this group’s blight.  
The event started promisingly. As planned, the rebels were lead out flanked by quartzes. The procession was separated by warriors with physical weapons. All rebels were wearing colorful garments (such a practice was older than the two diamonds present). The fabric was meant to bind and humiliate. Each outfit represented the sins of accused and was superstitiously donned to placate those destroyed by their actions. Normally only one or two colors were worn.   
All of the visible spectrum was incorporated.   
Jeers and laughter followed the procession. The seven of them were lined up facing a large window. Large enough for all to see the planet earth. Large enough for the diamonds to stand in front of it and still not reach the top. A window reinforced to withstand almost all. They were to watch it before they perished.

The rebels were despondent. Of all of the gems she had personally seen on the sanding block, this group was one of the most hopeless looking. It suited her fine. All other gems scurrying about the floor in preparation for one show of an execution mirrored her merriment. Many were aware that this was the most important event of their young lives.  
A few gems had brought pearls to the event, each vying for the best spot to record history. Not that it was only pearls from the lower classes who were in attendance. Many working class gems were in attendance, chosen by a supervisor to attend while their superior was busy. It was a common tactic and a show of power among those well in the higher echelons. It almost looked like the audience could have been part of the ragtag army if circumstances were different. So many gems of various classes, Diamonds, species, and colors were all gathered for a single cause. To watch the grand triumph of the Diamonds. And it was wonderful.  
Yellow’s booming voice filled the room and all others were silent.  
“Today we all stand together. Not for a mere act of retribution; we stand for our greatest achievement. An event so grand that all will hear of it. These gems who thought they could break our resolve.Thought they could kill one of us and tear us apart. All of us have suffered at their hands. This ends tonight with the execution of these foul creatures that do not deserve the honor of any of our presence. That each should be ground would be far too lenient. Each of these beings deserve to see their hope crushed in front of them.Their symbol, their cause, their hideout, and their victims resting place. It all needs to be erased. And the result will lead us into a new age…” She gestured to the Earth.  
As if on cue, the ground split. Pieces of the earth rose and fell. Magma emerged from the cracks destroying swaths of land. Light emerged as pillars and tendrils from the streams. One by one they joined each other. Earth was flung and crushed by a creature so immense it was hard to fathom. When the dust settled it solidified. Agonized cries from the… thing… reached even through the void. It writhed and undulated. Eyes hands and mouths appearing and disappearing into the abhorrent mass. Constantly shifting. Yellow addressed It calmly. Almost as if this things appearance did not affect her in the slightest.  
“CLUSTER!” It’s eyes all focused on her. Blue felt fear. Yellow was smiling.  
“I am your creator! I order you to-”  
She never finished. That was all it took: the beam of light from It annihilated her gem. There was commotion, panic, and someone wouldn’t stop screaming. The ship lurched and entered hyperspace.   
The screaming was getting on Blue’s nerves. Gems of all kinds ran up to her (protocol be damned) trying to calm her. Did it really happen? was this an illusion? Somehow, despite her disbelief, she knew it was real. But she couldn’t think with all of this screaming. She really should order someone to stop that. For some reason she couldn’t speak.   
Why?  
She was too busy screaming?  
Oh.  
She should stop that. 

The terrified Star Sapphire at the controls shivered. She was panicked, her annihilation left unfulfilled. She had been face to face with death and at the last moment she couldn’t accept it. This was different than seeing, despite her warning that they should cancel the event, her diamond didn’t listen. She hadn’t wanted to die, too. Now the future was up in the air and she was its compass. She ran through the crowd of terrified Gems in a desperate attempt to explain herself.   
Star pulled at Blue’s dress. The window snapped back to now, in the sparse hallway, in front of the same indistinguishable blur of hyperspace.  
“I’m sorry to bother you, our Diamond. We’re going to need you for directions during the subspace period. It is within two hours and I predict… this stop will be troublesome. So If you would kindly…”  
Blue tore her eyes away from the window.  
“Don’t I always?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a glimpse into the life of Kornerupine, a resident on The Continent. As the time to slow out of subspace approaches, she gets ready to join the brave gems that risk their lives for the safety of all. She has been to planets, in fast moving space debris, and even been clouds of cosmic dust so thick that they could sand. But scouting dig spots comes with the ultimate reward. Kornerupine gets to be in the presence of what gems pray to when they need something more than a Diamond.

Kornerupine was excited, the rush was the only time she could truly bathe in the light of the stars. Safety meant never seeing the darkness of space or the sky, the taste of void or air, the feel of vaccum or sometimes atmosphere. That was not a decision. That was her calling. She would brave any risk to be in the audience of the gods of gods. The proof that life waited for them when they finally won. And she was a digit in this giant hand reaching for victory.  
The crew she was part of was the resource collection team. The brave gems who risk everything to keep The Continent stocked and prepared. There was no guarantee that stops would be near anything, even with Star’s guidance. The hull repair crew needed to run checks on their irregular charge each stop. Resources were stored for this occasion but also other jobs as well. The continued existence of almost every part of her home relied on the crew.  
All other aspects of the rush were safer. gems have had to be left before. She remembered a few of the times her friends were saved before they were late. The other tales ended with her at a funeral. She had many of those kinds of memories. She would trust others with the planning of either outcome. She wasn’t interested in having somebody die because she overlooked something.Thankfully the mortality rate plummeted recently. Better strategies and technologies meant more chances to overcome It. 

Her mate, a human “named” Ehl, waited for her in their room, as was tradition for him. Her other roommate was a bit of a bigot so she was pretty sure that Labradorite would give them the place to themselves. She couldn’t wait to tell Ehl about the mission, doing so calmed each others nerves. He had panic attacks before she went to the Human Ambassador recommended this and she hadn’t looked back.   
She wasn’t surprised that Ehl was asleep by the time she got out of debriefing.  
Humans and their need to sleep. So CUTE!  
“Wake up! I know that took forever but you have to hear this!”  
He rolled out of the bed nook and there was a tiny thud when he collided with the floor. She helped him up, tossing the blanket onto Labradorite’s chair.  
“Thanks, now why was the meeting forever?” He queried in that accent that almost all humans have.  
She sighed heavily. What could she tell him, but she didn’t know? It had all been so strange. She started at the beginning. Seemed like the best place to start, anyways.

Seeing star pace was not unusual. She was under immense stress during the planning period. But this wasn’t the planning period. She must have made an entire lap while Kornerupine waited in the meeting room. Nervous chatter popped up here and there. Mostly polite comments, though some complained about the late comers. Kornerupine didn’t say a word to the affect of either. It wasn’t that she had no opinion, it was just that talking wouldn’t do anything. And sure enough the final gems came in.  
Star stepped up on the small platform, grabbed the mic, and started the well-known routine.  
“Hello fellow Gems, in eight hours we will be leaving hyperspace for a resource run. Tonight our target is a large and slow moving field of asteroids, threat level 1. A cosmic disturbance is scheduled for the middle of our subspace period. The event will pose no threat.” (Murmurs of confusion were heard throughout) “As per threat level, the teams of flier to grounded will be fifteen to one. Telekenetics are to number one to five so PLEASE do not clump. Outward square form for the main areas of interest, those teams are: Aqua, Aquamarine, Hackmanite, Lapis,”(Kornerupine’s team) “and Seraphinite. As for the others-” Kornerupine tuned out this part as per usual. She had to meet up with the rest of her team.  
Her leader stood with crossed arms.   
“Ok, so this SHOULDN’T be too hard. We have a hill situation and low speed objects. If anything major comes up I should be able to assist so don’t bother with small gripes. And” she narrowed her eyes at the sheer amount of hands raised “NO, I don’t know what's up with this ‘cosmic disturbance, but we’ll wing it.” Sodalite snickered at the pun, and Amazonite elbowed her in the gut. “We’ve had worse. Enstatite you are on levitation duty for the left, Moldavite the right. We have an especially rare opportunity today; gallium and calcium so… Don’t. Mess. up.” Harsh as usual. Lapis was the second Lapis Lazuli of three remaining on The Continent, and by far the least pleasant. Something traumatic happened to her before, but what, she wouldn’t say. Everyone has their reasons. Still, she is far more trustworthy than the other two.   
The rest of the meeting went similarly according to Andalusite. Strange and infuriatingly vague. Our Diamond was not at the meeting either (despite that being occasionally the case). Star was clearly trying to hide something. Everyone seemed afraid, but not Kornerupine. Any risk was worth it. She was determined to prove herself to the sea of stars that looked down on them. One day she and Ehl would stand under them together. And Ehl looked at her in that cute confused way of his. She hugged him tightly.  
the door opened to the familiar sight of her roomie. Labradorite rolled her eyes. She said nothing until she got to her chair. There was a small pause.  
”E4’s blanket is on my chair.” labradorite grumped. She grabbed the blanket, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it directly at Kornerupine. Kornerupine made an exaggerated show of falling over. Her roomie smiled discreetly. Many gems would say that Labradorite was apathetic, but that wasn’t true. She was just choosy about sharing her feelings. She wished Kornerupine a good rush and went to fiddling with her note screen. The time was getting close anyways

The ‘event’ started with her busily going about her work. No hint of what she was about to see. Someone yelled, could have been sodalite, maybe pietersite. Just a scream, nobody else made a noise. No other warnings. The spectacle just engulfed the horizon. Light, color, and dust that used to be a star. They swirled in a blasphemous dance, obliterating a swath of matter in the distance. A supernova.   
The sight was beautiful, no, ethereal. No. It was abominable. She dropped her detector. Suddenly that didn’t feel important anymore. A question came to her. Why am I doing this? And she turned to see the look on Amazonite’s face. Amazonite was stunned. Tears bubbled up and floated away into the void. She slowly turned back to the spectacle, as if that was all that mattered.  
A small tone chimed from her com. Lapis sounded so quiet. Almost apologetic.Moreso then she ever had.  
“Get back to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kornerupine's theme is Mister Rabbit ( I recommend Peggy Seeger's version)  
> Ehl's theme is Old Lady Goose (I also reccomend Peggy Seeger)  
> Labradorite's theme is You by Gold Panda  
> Andalusite's theme is Blind Heart by CAZZETTE  
> Lapis's theme is Lapis's theme by Lapis's theme- er I mean Steven Universe  
> Sodalite's theme is We Are Number One Remix by The Living Toombstone  
> Amazonite's theme is Strict Machine by Goldfrapp  
> The chapter theme is No More Memory by Cyriak Harris (do not look up the video if body horror frightens you. you can find the audio version if needed.)  
> I will love to be writing from a different perspective next chapter, Especially since there is so much to explain. Just know that most things have their reason.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this one has been in the works for a long time. The theme for The Cluster is Funny Angry(Twin Freaks) from Dynamite Headdy . The theme for Star Sapphire is The Ruler Of Everything by Tally Hall. For Blue Diamond it is Dream Sweet In Sea Major


End file.
